Survivor Micronesia - Episode 9

The 4 remaining members of Malakal return to camp from evicting Ami, the first eviction by the tribe of a Favorite. We hear from Faves Ozzy and Amanda and we hear from Fan Erik, but anything Cirie might have to say has been left on the editing room floor. What is with that? She got face time in the first 3 episodes, but it’s like she’s a ghost ever since.

Cut to Airai, same night. Eliza and Jason talking about how anxious they are for the merge as it will reunite Eliza with her closest ally, Ami. They are certain that Erik was evicted at tribal council. We have seen surprisingly little of Airai over the past few weeks, presumably because the Malakal losing streak has generated more drama. But stuff has been going on. Eliza and Erik agree that they have, “severely pissed off over half the jury.” Huh?

Eliza addresses the camera. “Jason is my closest ally. We are both kind of on the outs with our tribe. We both love this game and we both annoy people. I’m not going to lie. I think that kind of unites us.”

Poor, dim Jason tells Eliza he has the hidden immunity idol. He doesn’t – he has the fake idol (a peeled stick with a happy face scratched into the wood) that Ozzy left after finding the real idol. Eliza is very excited by the news. Poor, dimmer Eliza.

Next morning. Cirie finds tree mail directing Malakal to immediately gather all their belongings and go to a spot on a map that’s included with the mail. The merge is on.

As they make their way to the designated location Erik lets Ozzy know he will do whatever Ozzy and Amanda want as he knows he owes them his life. In one of the show’s more memorable turns of phrase, he tells the camera that since Ami’s eviction he is now allied with Ozzy as, “some kind of zoo-keeper bot. I’m the monkey and he’s the zoo keeper.”

At Airai the merge news prompts Pavarti, who made a secret alliance with Fans Alexis and Natalie in last week’s episode, to quietly solidify that alliance. She instructs her new alliance to keep things on the down-low. Seems Pavarti has assured them that Amanda is in the alliance, but Amanda doesn’t know it yet. So, as Pavarti tells the camera, Pavarti now has her original alliance (James, Ozzy, Amanda and Cirie) and this new one (Alexis, Natalie and Amanda). Wonder how Amanda’s going to feel about having her name taken in vain.

The tribes row to a neutral beach, where a feast awaits. Eliza gets the bad news that Ami, not Erik, was evicted. The feast includes bat. James chows down. His reasoning? “How many chances do you get to eat a bat? It’s one of the things you have to do.”

Let me check: the Grand Canyon, Times Square on New Years Eve, threesome…. Nope – no bat eating on my list, James.

They have to come up with a name for the new tribe. Erik proposes Dabu, the Micronesian word for good. Everybody likes it. They toast their new tribe.

What everybody doesn’t know but what Erik tells the camera in private is that he just made up the word because he wanted to name the tribe something funny. This guy is wasting his time pursuing his dream of being a professional ice cream scooper. He should be on the cast of Punk’d.

The Dabu tribe selects the Malakal campsite.

Ozzy lets us know he figures Jason has the fake idol. He also accurately senses that Jason wants to show him up.

Eliza approaches Pavarti and professes her undying loyalty to the original Faves. Pavarti isn’t having any of it and makes this clear to Eliza. Big-eyed Eliza screwed herself with Pavarti/James/Ozzy/Amanda early on and they are not going to be letting her up off the mat.

Pavarti tells Amanda about the girl alliance. “I’ve put us into an alliance without you being there.” Amanda jokes about it, but is truly pissed at Pavarti for dragging her name into an alliance that she wants no part of. I’d be pissed, too. Suppose Ozzy and James find out? Amanda tells the camera, “It leaves me with a lot of questions about Pavarti.” Is this the first crack in the couples alliance?

Immunity challenge time. Before we get to it Jason tells Eliza that if he wins immunity he will give her the hidden immunity idol. Everybody but them will vote to evict Eliza. They will vote to evict Ozzy and pull off the greatest blindside in Survivor history. If it was the real idol, this would be a brilliant plan. As it is, it may just be the worst humiliation.

The challenge starts with everybody standing in the ocean under a long, narrow metal grate. The tide is coming in. The waterline is about 10 inches below the grate to start. Forty-five minutes later the players have their faces pressed against the underside of the grate, their noses poking up through the spaces. The 6 women all bail before the first man, Erik, goes. It comes down to the match-up we want to see – Ozzy versus Jason. And Jason pulls it off. The look on Ozzy’s face when he pulls out from under the grate and surfaces is something to see. This is someone who is not used to getting beaten in physical contests: he is badly shaken.

Much as I like Ozzy, I’m wishing now that Jason had gone to Exile Island before Ozzy did. If he had, we’d be about to watch the strongest of the 10 players still in the game get eliminated with 2 votes against him. Instead, eavesdropping on Eliza and Jason anticipating Ozzy’s elimination is just sad.

Whoa – what is this? Ozzy lying down with Alexis snuggled up beside him. I am shocked. #1, why is he risking his alliance with Amanda? What is he thinking? #2, what went on between these two when they spent a night together on Exile Island?

Amanda tells Cirie, “I don’t think I know Ozzy as well as I think I know him.” Cirie agrees. Amanda wants Alexis out and she wants her out now.

Eliza gets her first look at Jason’s immunity idol and knows immediately that it’s a fake. Jason argues half-heartedly. They decide they should play it anyway.

At tribal council Jeff asks Alexis what skill set Eliza has brought to the game. Alexis talks about Eliza in the past tense, as if she has already been voted off. Eliza makes the case that none of the Faves won the big prize because they didn’t bring the least liked player (i.e., her) to the final 2. Nice try, but too late.

Eliza plays the peeled stick. Ozzy giggles. When Jeff says it is not the idol Eliza immediately tells all that Ozzy has it.

Bye-bye, Eliza. Can’t wait for the inevitable Ozzy-Amanda confrontation.